


Back It Up

by TheSpaceCoyote



Series: Fancy Omega AU [2]
Category: Borderlands, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Alpha!Jack, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Attempted Sexual Assault, M/M, Murder Husbands, Omega!Rhys, fancy omega AU, murder of a background character, rhys has to deal with some shitty alphas, rhys takes no shit and jack is protective as fuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-23
Updated: 2016-03-23
Packaged: 2018-05-28 13:33:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6331210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSpaceCoyote/pseuds/TheSpaceCoyote
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before, walking through the hallways of Helios came with a claustrophobic assault of hostile scents, thrumming animal energy that was hard to ignore and occasionally erupted into catcalls and cruel physical contact on several unfortunate occasions. But now, with Jack’s scent sheathing him, Rhys could walk with confidence and security</p>
<p>However, not even the scent and promised wrath of Handsome-fucking-Jack could deter the most ambitious—and idiotic—of alphas. </p>
<p>Case in point—one moment, Rhys had been walking through a little-used hallway on Helios, somewhat of his own personal shortcut, not even one of the ones that Jack had showed him, this one he had discovered all on his own—and the next, he was backed against a wall by a strange alpha with sweaty red lips and thinning, grey-blond hair.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Back It Up

**Author's Note:**

> More of the Fancy Omega AU! This occurs prior to "Smell a Massacre."
> 
> In which Rhys gets corned by an alpha and has to show him what for. And Jack helps!
> 
> Just like the tags say, there's attempted sexual assault but it gets thwarted and punished thoroughly.

Being Handsome Jack’s omega certainly had its perks. 

It was helpful—not that Rhys really _needed_ the help, he had survived long enough without it, but it didn’t hurt, given the way things were. On paper, omegas were assured just as many rights and protections as alphas or betas, but in practice things were _very_ different. 

Rhys had learned many, many harsh lessons since he had hit puberty, his new status like an unsurmountable wall before him. He’d flipped through a couple of pandering omega self-help books before accepting the grim truth of it all—omegas had to be three times as good as anyone else and then some to get the same results—and yet here Rhys was, sitting atop the pile with hordes of writhing, jealous alphas beneath him. Not saddled with bond or baby, either, something the omega took a smug pride in. 

But there were times when status played second fiddle to instinct, and during those times Rhys was glad that Jack’s scent hung heavy around him like a suit of armor, repellant against those same envious alphas that Rhys had crushed underfoot on his way to the top. Jack didn’t _own_ him, Rhys had made that perfectly clear when they had started out their relationship, but being _kept_ came with lush rewards that the omega could use to his advantage. 

Before, walking through the hallways of Helios came with a claustrophobic assault of hostile scents, thrumming animal energy that was hard to ignore and occasionally erupted into catcalls and cruel physical contact on several unfortunate occasions. But now, with Jack’s scent sheathing him, Rhys could walk with confidence and security

However, not even the scent and promised wrath of Handsome-fucking-Jack could deter the most ambitious—and idiotic—of alphas. 

Case in point—one moment, Rhys had been walking through a little-used hallway on Helios, somewhat of his own personal shortcut, not even one of the ones that Jack had showed him, this one he had discovered all on his own—and the next, he was backed against a wall by a strange alpha with sweaty red lips and thinning, grey-blond hair. 

Rhys gazed nonplussed at the alpha despite the firm arms boxing him in and the close, suffocating proximity of the other man to his body. His arms were folded, elbows jutting into the alpha’s chest, knees crossed and hips pressed as far back into the wall as he could possibly get them. Clearly in a pose that screamed _not fuckin’ interested_   to anyone that wasn’t a dumb hormonal beast. Though he was taken aback by how the alpha could sneak up on him in such a secluded hallway, he was more surprised at the fact that there were _still_ alphas who thought he was a defenseless toy, _still_ alphas who thought that Jack wouldn’t tear them to shreds if they so much as disturbed a button on Rhys’ coat. 

How many dead, stupid alphas did it take to learn one lesson?

“You’re such an _idiot_.” Rhys rolled his eyes at the alpha above him, lip curled in contempt. “Do you _really_ think you’re going to get away with this? Are you alphas really delusional enough to think every omega ever wants to fuck you?”

Rhys wrinkled up his nose when the man laughed, his terrible stench wheezing against the omega’s face. 

“Mouthy little bitch, aren’t you?” Rhys squirmed, his skin crawling at hearing _that_ word come from that rotten mouth. It hit him worse than it usually did, coming from the countless other skag-suckers who thought they could unravel the omega with a couple slurs. Rhys uncrossed his arms and pressed a firm, warning palm against the alpha’s chest.

“Okay, first off, _don’t_ call me that. There’s a second and a third off, too, if you want to dig the crud out of your ears and listen.” Rhys twitched his hip back as he felt the alpha’s fingers graze against it. He was this close to smacking that nasty look off the alpha’s face, that shit grin like the fucker felt he had just won a _prize_. 

“Oh sorry, is Handsome Jack the only one who can call you that?”

Rhys laughed, voice high. Oh, he was going to break this fucker’s _jaw_. 

“Jack doesn’t have to call me a bitch to get into my pants, knothead.” Rhys spat, viciously, right in the alpha’s eye. The man gazed at Rhys dumbly, saliva dribbling down before he scrunched up his face and snarled, knocking Rhys’ wrists aside in a surprising show of force, thick, sweaty hands grabbing at Rhys’s arms and slamming them against the wall before the omega could properly react. Rhys let out a furious snarl, trying to bite the alpha’s nose. The man chuckled, voice wet and thick in his throat, chafed sausage lips pressed in a smirk at Rhys’ struggles. 

“If Jack’s not going to put you in your place, then I guess _I will_.” Rhys’ eyes widened as hips shoved into his crotch. He could feel a high-pitched whine building in his throat, but tried to swallow it back down. No, he didn’t _need_ to call for help. He could handle this, he handled stupid alphas who didn’t know their place every day of his life. The only thing that made this any different was that he had hands pinning him down and rough hips pressed between his legs. This was _fine_. He could get out of this without anyone’s help.

“Can’t wait to see his face when he smells that his little bitch is _all mine_.” 

Disgust built up in his throat as this alpha _dared_ to press those nasty, calloused lips against Rhys’s neck, the omega letting out an offended whine when he felt them part, a thick tongue pressing against his hitching skin. Rhys gritted his teeth together, nails digging into his palms as he clenched his fists. He would bite through his tongue before he dared to give this filthy fuck any of the reaction he was looking for. Rhys felt the wet chuckle on his neck, heard the man distantly as his ECHOeye raced through a thousand and one methods for escape and, more importantly, _retaliation_. 

“C’mon, I know it’s all the same to you omegas. Get a dick in you and you don’t care who it’s coming from.” Rhys coughed, bile rising in his throat at the alpha’s words and his disgusting stench. It was like old fat and wet pencil shavings, stale and vile and absolutely too much _everywhere_. 

Rhys’s body tensed up, tendons in his flesh wrist and neck taunt, eerie blue eye blazing with fury as he snarled. 

“ _Guess it’s too bad you don’t have one_.”

Rhys brought his leg up so far and so close that his knee knocked into his stomach, the leather tip of his foot gouging against the alpha’s hip, curling up before kicking out, heeled boot jamming directly into the alpha’s crotch. Rhys was rewarded with a screech of pain and the release of humid pressure from his wrist and hips. The alpha was red-faced, both hands pressed against his crotch, and Rhys could’ve easily fled at this point, but no, not _yet_. The golden claws on Rhys’ cybernetic limb flashed across the alpha’s jaw, skidding across his throat and drawing fresh welts of blood. The man gasped, eyes bugging stupidly as his brain strained on whether to grasp his split crotch or slashed neck. His eyes crossed and he collapsed on all fours, shuddering and yowling in agony. 

Rhys’ chest heaved, blood dripping from his claws as he stared down at man, eyes narrowed. The alpha huddled in pain on the floor, swearing, one arm pressed flat against the surface, fingernails digging uselessly into the smooth metal. Rhys raised his knee up again, pointed heel driving deep into the man’s hand. Rhys’s eyes were wild, breath coming fast as he ground it down into the man, feeling the give of flesh and muscle and the crush of bone as the alpha screamed, blood popping against the gold of Rhys’ boot. 

The alpha’s other hand shot out reflexively, grabbing ahold of Rhys’ ankle. Rhys shouted in anger, kicking outwards, blindly groping the air as he fell backwards, heel lodged firm in the alpha’s hand—

But instead of slamming into the hard, flat steel of the wall or the floor, Rhys felt his back hit something warmer, contoured, but not less substantial. A sudden, familiar scent washed over him, heretofore undetectable under the pound of adrenaline and the fearful stench of the other alpha. Rhys shuddered, sighing softly into the contact, head tilting to the side, to the source.

“Jack—“

Something white and yellow flashed across his vision, Rhys recognizing it as a pistol moments before it exploded into a gunshot. He heard the faint, shocked gurgle of the downed alpha before it was drowned out by shot after shot after shot. The air was soon heady with the stench of blood, and even as Jack clutched at the back of Rhys’s head and pressed the omega’s face against the tempo of his chest,  Rhys struggled to crane his neck around, wanting to see the end result of Jack’s fury. 

The gunshots soon stopped, leaving only an echo through the emptied halls, but Rhys still felt Jack’s body shudder, tensing in even time. Rhys curiously raised his eyes up to the alpha’s, seeing his pupils constricted, still focused on the scene before him. Jack’s trigger finger was still pulling against the pistol, though he was rewarded with only the empty click.

“Jack.”

_Click_.

“Jack…”

_Click._

“Jack!”

Finally, the alpha seemed to snap out of it, pupils swelling slowly back to their original size. His tongue flicked out between his tense lips, and Rhys could feel his posture relax, though his heart still beat quickly against Rhys’s ear. The omega relaxed listening to it, only to jump when Jack suddenly turned his face towards him. It was like Jack had _just_ realized that Rhys was there, though he had a possessive arm wrapped around the man’s waist and had just splattered an alpha against the floor on his behalf. Rhys felt his breath catch in his throat, unsure of how to respond, when the unnerving still of the man’s face suddenly cracked.

_“Rhys_.”

Jack’s hands pressed over his body, harsh and possessive as he checked the omega over, teeth setting as he took in the omega’s bruised wrists, rucked up shirt, the wet spots against his neck. Rhys could see the rage creasing Jack’s face, the sharp canines grinding downwards—and he had no doubt that Jack could ride that energy into the murder of at least another twenty alphas. 

His words were running miles from his mouth, Jack’s flurried anger spilling forth as he took in the shaky, rucked up state of his omega. 

“Oh _hoh_ , you’d think, you’d fucking _think_ that these taints would get it in there head that you are off-limits, _ooooh_ you’d think that even their tiny shit brains could wrap around the fact that if I _ever_ catch them trying to pull this shit with you they’ll get their throats stuffed up their fuckin’ assholes, you’d _think—“_

“Jack.” Rhys batted the alpha on both cheeks, fingers pressing into the bone, trying to still his energy. Jack paused, but his eyes continued to move, flitting up and down and all over Rhys, as if he would disappear if Jack stopped taking him in for even a moment. Rhys sighed, thumbs pressing Jack’s eyelids down over his frantic gaze, letting out a puff of air as he felt Jack’s eyes still twitching underneath. 

“Listen. That alpha, he…he acted like he wanted to get at you. Take you down a peg. Fuck me and _claim_ me or whatever territorial alpha bullshit he was going on about. Some of them are just…stupid. They don’t think.”

“I don’t care if they don’t _think_.” Jack muttered, relaxing slightly into Rhys’s touch, the omega lifting his fingers as Jack slowly opened his eyes. “I…I can tear them apart, I can shoot them, I can threaten them and beat them and yet it’s—it’s not _enough_.” A growl of frustration tore through Jack’s lips, his fist slamming against the metal wall of the hallway, reverb echoing in all directions. 

“They should _know_ that, that should be a enough to keep them **_way the fuck away from you!_** ”

Rhys couldn’t help the small hitch in his breath as Jack exploded, immediately trying to tamp it down but it was too late—by the sudden, wide look in Jack’s eyes, the alpha had seen Rhys flinch, seen him shy away at the outburst and Jack’s anger crumbled again, taking the harsh lines of his expression with it. 

‘I….Rhysie…I’m so _sorry_ …” Rhys carefully pressed his hands to the sides of Jack’s chest as the alpha let him take his weight, Rhys stepping back on shaky legs until his back tapped against the wall of the hallway. It was a mirror of the tenuous position he had been in only moments before, but the pressure of Jack’s body against his own was instead comforting, like a heavy blanket around his shoulders. Jack pressed the side of his face into the wall’s cool metal, sighing, exposing his throat to Rhys’s mouth, the omega readily pressing his lips right above the alpha’s pulse. He could feel Jack relax once more, his fingers absently petting the fabric cinched around Rhys’s waist. 

From this position, in the peripheral behind Jack’s shoulder, Rhys could finally see what remained of his assailant. Blood was still spreading thin across the floor from the globs of meat and gristle piled in the vague shape of a body. Rhys’s eyebrows knit together, stopping the movements of his mouth against Jack’s throat, prompting the alpha to pull back in question. 

Rhys sniffed the air, grimacing at the stench of blood. “You know, I think for him, this was kind of an improvement,” he hummed, craning his neck to look down at the corpse. “Doesn’t smell like the back of an office fridge anymore.” He felt Jack chuckle against him, and Rhys smiled weakly, trying some levity to stave off the nauseous feeling in his gut. 

Rhys wasn’t feeling sick at the sight of the alpha’s body—though it was a sight, reduced to nothing more than a puddle of blood and shattered bone—but the sudden thought of how _close_ that had been made him shiver, tucking his face into Jack’s collar and letting out a terse breath. He felt his alpha’s strong arms wrap tighter around him. 

“ _Why_.” Rhys hissed through clenched teeth, trembling through his resurgent rage and fear. “Why can’t they just leave me the _fuck_ alone?” Rhys wondered if it would be out of line to ask Jack if he could wipe out all the remaining alphas on Helios. Stick them all in a moonshot and blast them into pieces on the surface of Pandora, far, far the fuck away. He let out a frustrated whine, hands curling into fists against Jack’s chest. The man’s arms pressed against Rhys’s upper back, fingers dipping into Rhys’s collar to briefly rub against the sensitive skin at the back of his neck. Reassuring, reminding—and for a moment, despite everything that he believed in, all Rhys wanted was to be _owned._  

“First thing tomorrow,” Jack murmured, voice raspy and dark, “I’m teaching you how to shoot.”


End file.
